Rice Wine Dessert

So many people in Saint Paul shared information with us to use in our book, it would be hard to list them all.

One special interchange happened early one morning at the Saint Paul bakery, Cakes by Fhoua. Sami watched and listened while baker, Fhoua Yang, shared her “story” and decorated beautiful made-to-order cakes. The following week, Fhoua and her business partner, Koa Yee Xiong, shared a marvelous recipe with Sami and Sheng. It consists of sponge cake, iced with coconut-laced whipped cream and topped with a little ball of fermented sticky rice. It is decorated with strings of caramelized sugar and soaked with sweet wine from the fermented rice. The dessert is a combination of an age-old recipe they learned from Koa Yee’s mom, Chia, and Fhoua’s recent Cordon Bleu Patisserie and Baking School training. The dessert represents the balance of modern and traditional elements of Fhoua and Kao Yee’s world. It will be included in the Desserts and Beverages chapter.


When Sami got home from Saint Paul she tried out the recipe and shared it with some of her Portland Hmong friends. Everyone who tried it voted a big “thumbs up” for the dessert.